The subject matter described herein relates generally to a wall plate connector system.
Wall plate connector systems are used in various applications such as industrial machines, home automation, and the like. For example, wall plate connector systems provide a wall plate having electrical wiring associated with the wall terminated to contacts, such as via screw terminals. A wall plate cover device is attached to the wall plate and contacts. The wall plate cover device includes a circuit board electrically connected to the contacts, and thus the wiring, for control of the wall plate connector system. For example, the wall plate connector system may be a thermostat, smoke detector, security system panel or other type of home automation device. Typically, the circuit board includes contact pins that are soldered to and extend from the circuit board. The ends of the pins are configured to be plugged into the wall plate for electrical connection to the contacts.
However, known systems are not without disadvantages. For example, the pins are susceptible to damage, such as during shipping or if the device is dropped. The pins are exposed and susceptible to bending, breaking, separating from the circuit board, or other damage. Additionally, connecting the wires to the screw terminals may be time consuming, particularly as devices become more complex and more wires are provided for termination. Additionally, the solder pins are typically through-hole terminated to the circuit board. The circuits of the circuit board must be routed around the through holes, and as the devices become more complex, more circuits are provided, making routing difficult and/or requiring more layers of the circuit board, which increases the cost of the overall device.